


Vampires in Costume

by radokami



Series: YohaMaru Vamp [2]
Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Blood Drinking, F/F, Fluff, Halloween, Post-Canon, Trick or Treating, Underage Drinking, Vampires, don't worry Mari doesn't let it get out of hand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:22:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27315466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radokami/pseuds/radokami
Summary: A series of loosely connected vignettes for a Halloween-themed prompt week, mostly following vampire girlfriends Yoshiko Tsushima and Hanamaru Kunikida. Guest appearances by thirsty idiots YouChika, wandering insomniac Riko Sakurauchi, benevolent enigma Mari Ohara, and little shit Ruby Kurosawa.
Relationships: Kunikida Hanamaru/Tsushima Yoshiko, Kurosawa Dia/Matsuura Kanan/Ohara Mari, Takami Chika/Watanabe You
Series: YohaMaru Vamp [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2016979
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14
Collections: Love Live Halloween Prompt Week 2020





	1. Violent Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 1: Vampires

Yoshiko Tsushima was determined.

She took a moment to reset herself, sitting up closer to straight, shaking the sting out of her hands, trying not to grit her teeth as she sucked in a few deep breaths. Conjuring all of her spite towards bad luck, God, whatever it was, she reached out again.

The instant her hand connected with her target, a silvery pouch of little more than sugar water, the sting returned. The burn, shooting up her fingers and making her hand crumple in pain. She gasped and recoiled yet again, panting, quivering, unwilling to contain her frustration any longer.

“I just want a fucking Capri Sun, is that too much to ask?” She yelled at whatever was listening. Avoiding the actual sun, she could understand, but anything named for it? Surely the universe had to be playing a joke on her, like it loved to do.

Alone and out of ideas, she buried her face in her arms on the table. Her tongue idly began to prod at her fangs again, sharp enough to draw blood with little effort. Someday she’d stop doing that. Someday the change would really sink in, and Yoshiko could stop torturing herself with everything she couldn’t do anymore.

A knock at the door yanked her from her stupor, pulling her onto her feet so quickly that she saw stars. A moment to shake them away and she was half-running to answer her door, grateful at least that some relief had arrived.

Standing at the door was Hanamaru Kunikida, shading herself this time under a wide-brimmed hat, face lighting up into that sublime smile the second her gaze met Yoshiko’s. Before any pleasantries had a chance, their arms were around each other, their lips meeting, the worst of Yoshiko’s frustrations melted by the warmth that Hanamaru always stirred in her. The only warmth that ever stirred in her, anymore.

At last they untangled themselves and Yoshiko stepped back, beckoning Hanamaru inside before they could get too comfortable in plain view.

“So… how’s my girlfriend?” Hanamaru broke the silence as she kicked off her shoes, her smile turning impish.

“I, uh-” Yoshiko began before interrupting herself with a nervous chuckle. The warmth in her chest shot up to her cheeks, blooming into a spectacular and distracting blush. She was still working on processing the whole dating thing. “I’m better now that you’re here.”

“Not a great morning, then?” The mischief faded as quickly as it had appeared.

“It’s been… frustrating?” Yoshiko calculated how much she wanted to tell on herself to Hanamaru, but figured the silver pouch on the table would do it if she didn’t. “Okay, you know Capri Sun?”

“I think so? It sounds familiar at least.”

“Well, I’m starting to think that vampires, uh… can’t drink it. I can’t even touch that pouch without it hurting like hell.”

“That doesn’t sound right? The only thing I’ve ever had a problem with is garlic.” Hanamaru paused and let her head sink ever so slightly. Mourning the loss of garlic bread, no doubt. She sighed almost imperceptibly and turned her gaze to the table. “Lemme try.”

“Huh? Wait-” Before Yoshiko could get any more words out, Hanamaru had made her way past and grabbed the pouch of juice, or whatever it was, nonchalantly as if it were a glass of water. No flinching, or gasping, or anything. Just Hanamaru, finally lining up the tiny straw after several attempts and taking a curious sip of the stuff.

“Well, it’s kinda gross, but that’s about it. Do you want it?”

Slowly, hesitatingly, Yoshiko went to take the pouch from Hanamaru, but just as before, the moment her finger made contact, _something_ hurt her. She reeled back yet again, nursing the tip of her finger, eliciting an incredulous glare from Hanamaru.

“Yoshiko, can I see your hand?”

Yoshiko complied, blinking back a tear in the corner of her eye, as Hanamaru investigated. It didn’t take her long to realize Yoshiko’s problem, however, as a shocked gasp gave way to stifled, crescendoing laughter.

“Zuramaru, this is serious!” Yoshiko protested, that indignant whine creeping into her voice.

“I know, I know,” Hanamaru gasped between laughing fits, “but this is just so.. _you._ Your hands are covered in papercuts, Yoshiko. This thing isn’t hurting you because it has the word ‘sun’ on it, you just keep grabbing it by the sharp edges.”

“Are you… kidding me.” Yoshiko deflated as the full extent of her bad luck dawned on her. She laid her head on Hanamaru’s shoulder, groaning at the universe for having such a dumb sense of humor. Her girlfriend’s free hand wrapping around her in a lazy hug was her only solace now.

“You know what we could do, though?” Hanamaru began in a gentle, hushed voice. “If you can’t hold onto this pouch without hurting yourself, I could just uh, hold it for you.”

Yoshiko’s chest twisted itself up in a way that was entirely new to her, unsure about the suggestion in about a hundred different ways but just barely beaten down enough to actually consider it. She pulled back, met Hanamaru’s gaze, and behind the humor she saw a real tenderness that also caught her off guard. The sight made something click, and Yoshiko saw little point in resisting.

“That sounds uh, humiliating,” she broke eye contact only long enough to get the qualifier out of the way. “But fuck it.”

With that, they retired to the couch, Yoshiko leaning into Hanamaru, Hanamaru cradling her with one arm and hovering with the pouch of sickly beverage in the other. Filled with the warmth of being so close, Yoshiko at last got her taste of Capri Sun.

It _was_ kinda gross. Oh well, though. This was all worth it.


	2. Perfect Disguise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2: "You are NOT going out in that"

“Isn’t the idea to dress up as something you’re not?”

“I’m not Dracula!” Yoshiko protested, speech just slightly slurred by the pair of fake plastic fangs she wore over her real ones.

“You know what I mean,” Hanamaru deadpanned in reply, eyes glazing over. “Besides, this seems a little too on the nose. What if we get found out?”

“What _if_ we get found out?” Yoshiko shrugged half-defensively. “It went pretty well when I found you out. And I practically told You that time too.”

“You _what?_ ” Hanamaru clutched at her forehead, taking care not to knock around the big, witchy hat she and Ruby had spent hours on.

“Relax, babe, that was almost a year ago. I’m sure if it was a problem, we’d know it by now. Like, we’re still invited to her costume party, right?”

“Okay, yeah, you’re right.” Hanamaru sighed in transparent relief. “But still, we don’t know how everyone else would react. What would Dia do if she found out?”

“Do we even know if she’s coming? Isn’t she super busy with like, college stuff?”

“Well, Kanan and Mari said they’d be there. I assume Dia would be too.”

“Eh, I’m not super worried about it either way. This is just the normal Yohane brand, you know? Only you and I know how lazy my costume is.”

“Okay, whatever. Your call.”

* * *

Yoshiko took another bite of tiny, individually wrapped candy and leaned against the wall, more junk food within arm’s reach. Alone for a moment, she silently reveled in how well the night was going so far. It never got old telling people ‘I’m a vampire’ to their face and getting simple nods and mhm’s. Almost bored reactions, even, because this _was_ Yohane’s brand. Same as ever.

A tug at her sleeve brought her back to the moment, along with a hushed voice in her ear.

“Are you getting hungry?” Hanamaru’s voice. Even now, it sent an elated shiver down Yoshiko’s spine as she nodded and pushed herself off the wall.

Hanamaru took her hand and led her down a hallway, barely stopping to check that the coast was clear. The night had calmed, current and former members of Aqours broken into a few small conversations, the music lower energy but still loud enough. Nobody seemed to notice the pair as they stole away to a dark corner to stave off their darker hunger.

Yoshiko never thought to question why it worked for vampires to feed on one another. She had no reason to, not when the feeling of Hanamaru’s fangs sliding into her neck was so soothing, not when the taste of her blood was so intoxicating.

Not when everything fell away when they did this, when nothing existed but Hanamaru, radiant in her undeath, blinding Yoshiko to the world, to the figures walking down the hallway, to the creak of the floor, to the faint giggle.

It was Hanamaru’s impossibly beautiful eyes glancing off to the side, her passionate gaze shattering in an instant, that set Yoshiko floating gently back to earth. It was the sight of You and Chika up the hallway, glaring at them, that brought her crashing down.

“You two had the same idea, huh?” Chika blurted out with an awkward laugh, blushing, none too concerned about the details of what she was looking at, it seemed. “Don’t let us interrupt you, we’ll find somewhere else.”

“Actually, we were just about done here,” Hanamaru quickly, almost frantically replied, trying to reassemble some kind of composure.

“Were we?” Yoshiko mused dreamily, still more transfixed by her date than anything else.

“Yeah, we were.” Hanamaru grabbed Yoshiko’s hand and led them up the hallway, eager to blend back into the party like nothing had happened.

“Sorry for interrupting,” You chimed in, a similarly embarrassed blush to Chika’s fading from her cheeks. As they passed, she added to Yoshiko in a hushed, teasing lilt, “Not much of a costume, is it?”

If her blood could still run cold, Yoshiko expected it would right about now. But before she could stop and glare at You’s knowing smile, Hanamaru pulled her onward, adding her own whisper to Yoshiko before they made it back to the party proper.

“Told you.”


	3. Ocean Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3: Hauntings

Something was different about Uchiura at night. It wasn’t quiet like it should be, rather Riko Sakurauchi could hear the creatures of the night coming out in force when the moon rose, squeaking and chittering, sometimes far too close to her bedroom window. It kept her up most nights.

She’d tried to bend this insomnia to her advantage, composing new material on her piano in the not-dead-enough of night, but the pieces always came out sounding… wrong. Discordant, impossible to follow, wild arpeggios and rapidly shifting rhythms building into fists slammed on clusters of keys. It was a wonder she didn’t wake anyone up doing this. But what disturbed her more was that these pieces never sounded so chaotic at night as they did in the day.

It took a week or two to work up the nerve, but once she’d abandoned composing at night she could think of little else to do with this cursed wakefulness than go for walks, hoping that the cold air might lull her just a bit closer to sleep.

The first few nights she was content to cross the street and haunt the beach, pacing back and forth across the sand, barefoot the first time until she felt like her toes were going to fall off. Singing softly to herself, old μ’s and Aqours and Guilty Kiss songs, anything to distract her from the constant squeaking of bats in the sky, the frantic chirping of crickets.

Soon, Riko found herself roaming the main street of town, up and down under the streetlights, stealing glances at the bay whenever it peeked between buildings, still humming and singing. She never saw another soul on these night walks, not even Chika.

So there was nobody to stop her when her walks got longer, when she started turning off onto side streets and following them to their end, creeping down alleys where the insects buzzed ever louder and the streetlights were scarce, where her voice played between the quiet houses to join the night chorus.

Her point of no return came the night she realized that she knew these alleys by heart, not even a month after all this started. That night she stole away surreptitiously as ever, confidently navigating between still, silent houses in the mostly-dark. She sang _Pianoforte Monologue_ to herself, to the night, an indulgent pick but an important song to her nonetheless.

But the alleys were starting to tire her, and the forested hills Uchiura sat perched on called to her in a thousand tiny, incessant voices. So she wandered ever further, into the trees, singing all the while. The first time she stumbled upon an observation deck in the hills and looked out over the moon-painted bay, flanked by an arc of small, sleepy houses, she could’ve sworn that the crickets sang in something closer to harmony.

Every night now, Riko Sakurauchi went on her walks, spending hours pacing the streets, alleys, and trails of Uchiura, carrying her songs with her, always alone. If anyone talked of the strange singing girl in the woods, she never heard of it.

Not until the night she strayed from a usual circuit through the woods, taking a different fork to see if it connected to one she knew. In short order, the path led her to a familiar place, indeed, but not more trail.

No, she found herself on the path that led into the woods from the temple. The one Hanamaru stayed at, if she wasn’t mistaken. Ready enough to wrap up her walk for the night, she shrugged and followed the path to the steps that led down into town.

“Riko?”

A human voice called out to her from behind, the shock almost sending her careening down the concrete steps to a grisly end. Luckily, she only gasped and clutched the handrail with a frantic death grip, taking several moments to catch her breath before turning around.

Approaching her from the direction of the temple was Hanamaru Kunikida, seemingly dressed for bed but not visibly drowsy. Her skin shone in the moonlight to an unnerving degree - Riko had to walk back from her gut reaction of ‘vampire.’ This was the first person she’d seen out at night like this, of course the lighting would take some getting used to.

“Oh, Hanamaru.” Riko tried to put on her most pleasant tone. “Didn’t expect to see you out this late.”

“I’ve uh, been having some trouble sleeping lately.” Hanamaru replied, half-convincingly. Probably up late reading.

“The bats are keeping you up too?” Riko exclaimed, relieved to have someone else to fume to about the cause of all this.

“The…” Hanamaru paused, a quizzical look on her face for just a moment before she hastily continued. “No, those don’t really bother me, to be honest. I’m talking about that voice that’s been singing every night lately.”

“Oh.” Riko tried not to look as guilty as she felt, putting on a faux-humored grin. “That doesn’t really bother _me,_ so I guess we’re even, huh?”

“How could the singing not bother you?” Hanamaru gasped. “It’s been all over Uchiura, even the back trails, and only at night. It’s creepy. My grandparents are thinking of treating this as a new kind of spirit and trying some purification rituals.”

“Purification? You don’t-” Riko covered her mouth with her hand before she could let more spill out, but it was too late. Hanamaru glared at her, deadpan. Riko uncovered her mouth and swallowed before continuing. “You don’t uh, have to do that. I’m the one that’s been singing. I just started going on longer and longer walks whenever I couldn’t sleep, which is every night now. Really wish those bats would just quiet down…”

“Well, Riko, I’m impressed that you haunted the town so well as a _mere mortal._ ” Hanamaru’s teasing delivery felt just slightly darker than usual in a way Riko couldn’t quite explain. “But maybe cut the singing. And stick to the roads. I’ll see what I can do about the bats.”

“Okay, sor- wait, you’ll what?” Riko looked to where Hanamaru was standing, but saw nothing. She was alone again, left to ponder just what Hanamaru meant.

Feeling a bizarre combination of guilt and relief, Riko started down the steps, taking care not to sing this time. And for the first time in far too long, she was met with silence. Pure, serene, and clear, only the distant sound of waves on the shore remaining. The totality of it sent a single whisper of a shiver down Riko’s spine as she approached her home, but by the time she crawled into her bed she didn’t care anymore.

That night, Riko Sakurauchi slept better than she had in months.


	4. Unison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4: Fall/Halloween activities

“Ready to do jack-o-lanterns, Yoshiko?” Hanamaru called out as loud as she could manage with a big, heavy pumpkin weighing her down. The question bounced off the temple walls, running circles in the air, unanswered. “Sweetie?”

Still no answer. Sighing lightly to nobody, she set the pumpkin down on a table the two of them had prepared, complete with delicate carving knives and a bucket for discarded pumpkin guts, and wandered outside to search for her girlfriend.

The autumn breeze that greeted her outside was cold, but nothing she wasn’t used to. A quick scan of the temple grounds showed nothing out of place. A stray _squeak_ from around the corner confirmed her vague suspicion, however. Sighing again, this time with an eye-rolling smile, Hanamaru followed the sound.

Sure enough, at the edge of the forest, conducting a swarm of bats like it was an orchestra, was Yoshiko, her back turned for the moment. Sensing an opportunity, Hanamaru lightened her steps and let the flapping and squeaking cover up the crunch of leaves under her feet. Her quarry swayed back and forth, directing the bats to do… something. The choreography wasn’t exactly clear, but it did its job of holding Yoshiko’s attention long enough for Hanamaru to creep up behind her and lightly lay a hand on her shoulder.

The sound Yoshiko made as she convulsed in shock was nothing short of inhuman, but the face she made when she finally turned around to meet her assailant was all Yoshiko: startled and flustered and embarrassed all at once.

“Hanamaru?” Yoshiko’s voice was as shaky as the day the two of them first reconnected. It would’ve been cute if she’d been caught doing something more innocent. “What, uh, brings you back here?”

Hanamaru wordlessly glanced up at the cloud of wings flapping above them.

“I told you guys to be quiet,” Yoshiko hissed vaguely upwards. A disjointed chorus of squeaks and squeals came in reply.

“Yoshiko, I thought we agreed to do jack-o-lanterns. Not bats. You remember what happened last time?”

“Yeah, you don’t need to remind me.” Yoshiko conceded, deflating. She turned her attention upwards again. “Alright, y’all, show’s over. Get going.”

“Did you just say ‘y’all’?” Hanamaru giggled despite herself as the cloud of bats dispersed, chittering amongst themselves.

“Shut up,” Yoshiko whined, quickening her pace back to the temple to do what she had ostensibly come here to do.

* * *

“I think I’m done,” Yoshiko announced, leaning back to admire her work and stretch her fingers. “Wanna see?”

“Yeah, just a second,” Hanamaru replied, half-present as she put the finishing touches on her carving. “Alright, done! Lemme see yours!”

“Behold!” Yoshiko posed dramatically as she turned her pumpkin around to reveal a simple, stylized bat, not a far cry from her own logo. “I couldn’t do no bats, sorry.”

“I think this’ll be fine,” Hanamaru giggled, savoring that flutter in her chest that Yoshiko had a way of evoking. “Besides, I couldn’t either.”

Hanamaru turned her jack-o-lantern around to reveal a similar outline of a bat, a bit more realistic and less cutesy, with pointed wings and ears. A second of taking it in and nearly choking up was all Yoshiko needed to break her pose and dive across the table into Hanamaru’s arms.

Her hands were sore, her shoulders were stiff, and this one corner of the temple was an absolute mess, but the sheer elation of embracing Yoshiko banished those worries from Hanamaru’s mind. She sighed them all away and hugged back as hard as she could.


	5. We Could Eat Spaghetti Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 5: Monsters doing something mundane

Yoshiko stood stock still, watched Hanamaru ring the doorbell to the gigantic, ostentatious hotel suite, and waited. Though she was excited to see Mari again, she couldn’t help but recall the last time they had come here, and what had changed since then. Without prompting, Hanamaru squeezed her hand, shared a brief, affectionate gaze for good measure, and the tension drifted away for the time being.

Before they could think up a conversation to fill in the wait, the doors opened to reveal Mari, already smiling broadly, the giant statue behind her lending her an unusually imposing energy.

“Oh my god!” She began in typically enthusiastic English. “So glad you two could make it! Come on in!”

The pair stepped inside without incident, and Yoshiko had to fight herself not to sigh in relief too soon. The inside of Mari’s home in Uchiura was just as extravagant as ever, the fountain still bubbling, the couches still numerous, the windows still high and beaming light in from outside - good thing it was cloudy.

“Thanks for inviting us,” Hanamaru offered while Yoshiko remained silent, absorbing the opulence. “We’ve been looking forward to catching up.”

“I have too, honored guests.” Mari flourished and gestured to another room. “Let me show you to the dining room, and we can get started.”

She led them to another high-ceilinged room, a massive chandelier hanging over a long table, places set and stocked with a myriad of familiar and exotic condiments, with over a dozen chairs flanking it. Already, Yoshiko could make out some familiar scents wafting in from what was presumably the kitchen - Mari’s cooking, but a little different in a way she couldn’t place. She tried not to shudder as she remembered where Mari was visiting from.

“I’ll be right back with drinks and something to munch on while the main course finishes up,” Mari singsonged, disappearing through the door at the end of the room.

“Well, this is going well so far,” Hanamaru attempted to reassure Yoshiko as they took their seats. “Wouldn’t you say?”

“We just got here,” Yoshiko finally spoke, subdued. “I bet she brings out garlic bread first thing and this gets super awkward really fast.”

Before Hanamaru could reply, Mari returned with a pitcher of ice water in one hand and a basket of bread in the other. Yoshiko could already feel her stomach dropping, but upon closer inspection it was just an untouched baguette. Again she had to hold in her relief.

“So, Mari, how’s Italy?” Hanamaru managed between mouthfuls of bread.

“It’s been fine,” Mari sighed. “A little lonely without Aqours, though…”

“I know what you mean,” Yoshiko offered, trying to let some of that building tension go. “Guilty Kiss hasn’t been the same. Or been at all, really.”

“Shame.”

“Yeah.”

Before they could settle into a lull, Mari’s phone started beeping.

“Oh, that’s the rest of the food. Back in a few!” With that, Mari disappeared into the kitchen again.

“So, plain bread. Good enough for you?” Hanamaru probed.

“Kinda. There’s still the rest of the food too.”

On cue, Mari burst through the door with several plates of what appeared to be spaghetti. Before Yoshiko could react, she had set them down on the table and disappeared again, this time returning with a pitcher of something deep red with orange slices floating in it. At least that looked okay.

“Alright, dig in!” Mari announced, looking as innocent as a rich girl possibly could. Without waiting, she began on her dish, leaving Yoshiko and Hanamaru exchanging uneasy glances.

“So when you said you had ‘problems’ with garlic,” Yoshiko asked under her breath, “what kind of problems did you mean?”

“It kinda felt like I was eating fire,” Hanamaru shuddered. “In a bad way.”

“But you didn’t like, die, clearly. We’ll be able to tell before it does any real damage, right?”

“Theoretically, yes.”

“Alright, fuck it. I’m going in.”

Yoshiko spun up some pasta onto her fork and slowly, reluctantly, took a bite. She expected to feel like her mouth was on fire, like her Tears of a Fallen Angel but worse, but the pain never came. Cautiously, she took another bite. Still nothing.

It _was_ delicious, however. There was no denying that at this point. It was like the bizarre, hyper-expensive stew Mari made in high school, but in the form of an Italian dish. What was _in_ this?

Seeing Yoshiko digging in with increasing enthusiasm, Hanamaru took a bite, and immediately her eyes lit up, glistening with… were those tears?

“It’s delicious,” she proclaimed, apparently unbothered that her mouth was still full. “Mari, this is delicious! It even tastes like it has garlic in it, how did you do it?”

“Oh, I have my ways.” Mari smiled furtively. “Glad you like it though! Here, have some of this too, it’s my own take on _sangria._ ”

Beaming with pride, Mari poured everyone a drink from the new pitcher, letting orange slices fall into each glass. It was deep, dark red, almost like blood, but Yoshiko shook that fantasy out of her head. Sure, Mari could approximate the taste of garlic, but she wouldn’t go _that_ far.

Still, Yoshiko was fascinated by this drink, so she raised the glass to her lips and took a curious sip.

Oh, that was wine. That was so much wine. Yoshiko felt a faint warmth spread down her chest, and set the glass back down. There _was_ something about it, though.

“I used blood oranges in it!” Mari announced, laughing at her own joke.

Yoshiko rolled her eyes, but chuckled under her breath all the same.

“So… wait.” Hanamaru wondered aloud between sips of _sangria._ “Who told you? About us?”

“Well, you did, just now.” Mari grinned, almost punchable but not quite. “Also You. And Riko. I think most of Aqours knows by now, actually.”

Yoshiko couldn’t tell whether her blush was from the conversation or the drink, but her cheeks burned all the same. At least she was more relaxed now.

“But it’s obviously okay, no?” Mari continued. “Why else would I have you over for dinner? Nobody really has a problem with it, as far as I can tell.”

“I told you it’d be fine, Zuramaru,” Yoshiko spoke up, wobbling ever so slightly.

“You were the one who was worried about this, if I recall correctly.” Hanamaru teased. “We should probably thank you now, Mari. This was such a good dinner.”

“Of course! Anything for my little vampires.”

“Heh.” Yoshiko was swaying quite dramatically now. “Thank youuu Mariii.”

“You _may_ have had too much.” Mari repossessed Yoshiko’s half-full glass, tsk-tsking in her best Dia impression.

“Oh, while I’m still thinking about it,” Hanamaru interjected, an urgent look on her face. “Could you um, tell me how you made that garlic flavor? I _really_ miss garlic bread.”

“Oh, yeah. I’ll text you the recipe.”

Yoshiko wasn’t quite sure, but she thought she saw Hanamaru wipe a tear from her eye.

“I love the future.”


	6. The Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 6: A test of courage

“Isn’t a test of courage more of a summer thing?” You mused, eyes wandering around the new Aqours club room. Even halfway through the school year, the change was still settling in.

“Normally, yeah,” Chika replied, nodding sagely. She paused to eye everyone else in the room, lingering on Yoshiko, Hanamaru, and Riko. “But something tells me the normal summer version wouldn’t be scary enough for about half of us.”

“I disagree,” Hanamaru retorted. “Yoshiko is still extremely easy to scare.”

“Leave me _alone,_ ” Yoshiko whined theatrically, casting her eyes up to the heavens that had abandoned her long ago.

“You and I both know you don’t want that.”

“Anyway!” Chika lightly pounded on the table for effect. “That still leaves Maru and Riko. That’s enough of us I think we can get away with doing something _special._ Something extra spooky for Halloween!”

“Sounds fun,” Ruby chimed in. A devious gleam shone in her eyes as they flicked back and forth between Yoshiko and Hanamaru, making them both sink in their seats.

“Alright then,” Chika announced. “Tomorrow night, we meet at Uranohoshi.”

* * *

The six members of Aqours stood huddled at the gate of the closed high school on the hill overlooking Uchiura Bay, shivering in the autumn wind, watching the last streaks of sunset fade from the sky. No cars had passed recently enough to deter them, so Chika stepped forward and started scaling the gate.

“Come on, we’ll go over the plan once we’re in.”

“Is there no way to open the gate once you’re over?” Riko groaned as she watched Chika awkwardly land on the other side.

“It’s locked with a chain,” You observed. “Here, I’ll give you a hand when I’m at the top.”

One by one, they filed over the gate, and once again they stood together on the grounds of Uranohoshi. With only a half moon and the flashlights on their phones to illuminate the campus, it felt more dead than ever. Between that and all the memories here, decaying into their own sort of ghosts, Chika couldn’t have picked a better venue.

“Alright, pair up!” Chika called out, her voice echoing off the empty buildings. “Only rule is, you can’t pair up with your girlfriend.”

Yoshiko and Hanamaru exchanged a helpless look. Chika had _really_ thought this through, more than she usually did. Yoshiko shivered anew, even as the school building blocked most of the wind.

“Don’t worry, Yoshiko, I’ll protect you.” Ruby’s voice came abruptly from behind, making Yoshiko jump. She stepped forward to Yoshiko’s side and took her hand, her other hand jammed into her jacket pocket, leaving their immediate vicinity in darkness.

“Will you really?” Yoshiko shuddered, fishing her own phone out of her pocket to light their way.

“Okay, looks like we’re all good!” Chika continued in her group leader voice, one hand holding her light aloft and the other wrapped around Riko’s shoulder. “So, the plan is to go inside, hit the old club room, then come back out. Sound good?”

“Aye-aye!” You and Hanamaru responded in chorus, both saluting.

“We’ll go first!” Ruby called out without missing a beat, ignoring Yoshiko’s horrified expression as she pulled her victim along towards the front door.

“Ooh, volunteers!” Chika rubbed her hands together menacingly. “Good luck.”

With that, Ruby led Yoshiko through the doors and into the dark, abandoned hallway, pausing only once the doors had slammed shut behind them.

“Are you having fun with this?” Yoshiko mumbled, pulling her hand back to try and warm herself up.

“It’s not really fun until it’s scary, right?” Ruby wondered aloud, slowly and aimlessly stepping into the darkness as far as Yoshiko’s light would reach. Stopping there, she turned around and smiled far too innocently. “Come on, let’s see what’s in the club room.”

Yoshiko tried to shake the worst of her fears from her head and hesitantly followed Ruby deeper into the sleeping building, keeping her light trained on Ruby’s back. Some part of her might have expected the floorboards to creak under them, but they were as solid as ever. She whispered reassurances to herself as Ruby stayed quiet - she was a creature of the night, if anything ghosts should fear her, Ruby said she’d protect her.

The faint moonlight that shone down on the courtyard was some solace, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared when Yoshiko’s eyes wandered to the old, hastily corrected sign reading “school idol club.”

Ruby didn’t hesitate as they approached the club room, opening the door and beckoning Yoshiko to follow her inside. The room was as empty and pristine as they had left it, a fine layer of dust covering the whiteboard that remained there. The sound of the door latching behind them was deafening in the silence that reigned here.

“I figured there would be something here,” Ruby thought aloud, pacing around the room with her chin in her hand. “Unless the scare is on the way back. Wanna find out… Uh, Yoshiko?”

“Yeah, I’m definitely ready to get out of here,” Yoshiko absently replied, mercifully absorbed for the moment by her reflection in the window. It kind of looked like her, but not quite. She shrugged, chalking it up to the bad lighting and the vampire thing. Even mirrors were frustratingly hard to use these days.

“Yoshiko?”

“Yeah, let’s go, Ruby.” Yoshiko waited for a reply, but got nothing. “Ruby?”

She turned around to check on her companion, but was met by another figure, significantly taller than her, dressed in an Uranohoshi uniform. In an instant, all the fragile courage she had built up shattered, she leapt what felt like a foot in the air, and she _screamed._ An inhuman scream, welling up from a place within her that she couldn’t identify, so piercing that the figure in front of her doubled over, covering its ears, revealing a long, blue ponytail, and

It was Kanan.

Yoshiko immediately threw her hands in front of her mouth, hoping that the dim lighting would cover the furious blush consuming her face. As Kanan recovered, Ruby approached, rubbing her ears but laughing.

“Oh, that was so worth it,” Ruby gasped between laughing fits. “Even though my ears still kinda hurt. How are yours, Kanan?”

“Ringing a little, but I think I’ll be fine. As long as Yoshiko is the loudest screamer.” Kanan winked at Yoshiko for some reason she couldn’t quite discern.

“Can we go?” Yoshiko muttered weakly, her voice spent.

“Alright, come on.” Ruby grabbed Yoshiko’s hand and let her back towards the entrance, pausing to wave at Kanan before heading back up the mercifully quiet hallway. The pair remained quiet until they came back out through the door to reunite with the rest of Aqours.

“Welcome back!” Even Chika’s slightly too loud voice was welcome after the ordeal inside. “How’d it go?”

“Pretty well, I’d say,” Ruby chirped, walking as steadily as ever with a deflated Yoshiko in tow.

“I hate y’all,” Yoshiko groaned, seeking solace in Hamanaru’s arms for just a moment of comfort before the line kept moving.

That one moment of perfect silence, embracing in front of the dark husk of Uranohoshi, feeling warm at last despite everything, was what stuck with Yoshiko about that night.


	7. She's American

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 7: Trick-or-treating

Chika enthusiastically knocked on the door, fluffing the tail on her costume and shaking away her shivers while she waited for an answer. Her breaths showed themselves dramatically in the porchlight before dissipating into the darkness beyond its reach.

The door opened to reveal Riko, clad in what could only be described as an ascended Guilty Kiss outfit - black dress, mesh veil, dramatic purple accents. She smiled at Chika, revealing plastic fangs not unlike the ones Yoshiko had worn to the costume party.

“Ooh, are you a vampire?” Chika leaned forward, inspecting the outfit.

“That’s the idea,” Riko laughed her polite, reserved laugh. “Hope I’m not stepping on anyone’s toes with this one.”

“If Yoshiko is that lazy twice in a row, there may truly be no hope for her.” Chika shook her head in played-up solemnity. After a beat, she broke her pose and thrust forward an empty pillowcase expectantly. “Oh, hey, before we go, is your mom handing out candy tonight?”

* * *

Tiny and out of the way as it was, Uchiura had one connection to the larger world: Mari Ohara. Even though she spent more of her time in Italy these days, her presence never diminished, not with how frequently she flew back to see her friends, attend parties, maybe bring a piece of exotic culture to the sleepy seaside town. It was a wonder she was always so energetic, between college and several lifetimes’ worth of jet lag.

So it wasn’t entirely out of the blue when she posed a simple suggestion to the Aqours group chat: trick-or-treating in Uchiura.

* * *

“You’re sure these wings will hold up all night?” Yoshiko reiterated, growing tired of looking over her shoulder to check that they were still attached to the back of her costume. “On the bus, too?”

“I’d think you’d know to trust my skill by now.” You pouted theatrically, bunny ears bouncing to and fro as she walked backwards in front of her fallen angel/vampire companion. “I’m hurt, Yoshiko. _Wounded._ ”

“And yet, I sense you’ll live, somehow.” Yoshiko rolled her eyes, hoping it would come across in the slowly darkening street. “You think anyone’s actually gonna play along with this trick-or-treating thing?”

“I dunno. Only one way to find out, I guess.”

* * *

Mari’s first step had been to recruit the Kurosawas to help spread the word about this strange new custom, and spread it they did. Between a liberal flyer campaign and word of mouth from one of the most revered families in town, soon all of Uchiura was at least aware of the basic premise. Wait for a knock, or the doorbell, and give out candy. It was simple, if extremely un-Japanese.

* * *

Hanamaru paused at the top of the stairway down from the temple, looking out at the view she had become so accustomed to. Normally, it would be a bit darker by this time, but tonight the bay glowed a faint yellow. Whether it was from the full moon or every house in town turning their porchlights on, she couldn’t discern from here.

She adjusted her hat, the same one she had worn to the costume party weeks earlier. Time to find out.

* * *

“Alright, let’s see your hauls!” Mari shouted as the members of Aqours filed in to join her, Dia, and Kanan in the extravagant suite atop the Ohara Hotel.

One by one, they took their seats on a set of couches and emptied their pillowcases, plastic pumpkins, and baskets. Among the modest piles of tiny, individual candies, Chika’s was noticeably the largest, Yoshiko’s the smallest.

“How did you get more than me, Zuramaru?” Yoshiko groaned, subjecting her girlfriend’s pile of candy to extra scrutiny. “I thought it was because of some vampire thing that I kept weirding people out!”

“You’re just unlucky, babe.” Hanamaru replied, her mouth already full of candy. “This is known.”

“Besides,” You cut in. “Chika even has more than me! Where’d you go that we didn’t?”

“Uhh, I made a point to stop by Mutsu’s place.” Chika replied after a moment of recalling. “Did you?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Hmm, where else…”

“Did anyone else stop at my house besides Chika?” Riko wondered. “My mom was giving out big handfuls of candy to whoever stopped by, she was really into it for some reason.”

“Something felt kind of taboo about stopping at y’all’s houses,” Hanamaru admitted, still munching away at her pile.

The costumed members of Aqours shared a collective, mumbled “yeah,” leaving Chika just slightly red.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Mari chimed in, rising to retrieve an almost comically large basket and tipping it over onto the table, more than doubling the size of everyone’s pile. “Don’t forget whose place you’re at now!”

“I, um. Thought that basket was for us,” Dia muttered to Mari as everyone began picking away at the bounty on the table.

“This is all for everybody, Dia.” Mari winked as she took her seat again. “That’s kind of the point of trick-or-treating, no?”

“We don’t really know the point, to be fair,” Kanan added with a shrug. “We’re just taking all this weird shit at your word.”

“Would _I_ lie to you?” Mari gasped, scandalized.

Kanan and Dia shared a look, no words necessary.

“Well, I’m glad that’s settled!” Mari clapped and turned her attention to the whole group. “And I think this counts as a promising first run. I trust you’ll all be on board for next year?”

A much more enthusiastic “yeah” came from around the table.

“That’s what I like to hear! Here’s to another Uchiura tradition!”

Kanan and Dia shared another look, then leaned forward to grab their own shares of candy and join in the impromptu toast that was forming over the table.


End file.
